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Message: <blockquote data-quote="innerdude" data-source="post: 9823970" data-attributes="member: 85870">Some additional explanation of FFG Narrative Dice combat ---So in a certain sense, FFGND combat uses a fairly structured "subroutine" that will feel familiar on the surface to D&D players, but the underpinning mechanics cause the tenor and pace of combat to be different.Mechanically, PC health + stamina are fixed values that do not ever change or increase. Furthermore, in the Star Wars games, there are extremely limited ways to increase defensive stats, and even the best armors are only marginally effective.So how does this play out in combat?Single attack hits against a PC aren't necessarily fully detrimental, but because overall health and stamina values are small and fixed, every "hit" is felt. And because players can't statistically boost their defenses in most cases, they have to really think narratively (within the fictional scene) about how they're going to expose themselves to risk to gain the reward. How do they stay under cover? What resources do they have to shift odds in their favor?Because straight-on, bull-in-the-china-shop combat is going to be punitive to health and stamina.Sure, you can send the tough guy Wookie or Trandoshan out in the open to start hewing down mobs with a vibroblade --- But  it's a guarantee that with a big enough mob or tough enough bosses, they're going to take hits. A squad of 5 stormtroopers, at full strength, isn't going to necessarily hinder a party fully, but they're certainly going to do some real grind and wear down on the party before they move on.What ends up happening is that combats start to take on a sort of general feel, or tone---There's an early back and forth as foes exchange blows / fire, then each side starts to dig into their bag of tricks / gear to push the action, then as one side sees that they're getting ground away and close to tapping out, even bigger moves or a change in tactics become the priority.I've played 3 total sessions of D&D 4e ever, but I seem to recall that some players had similar thoughts about combat there as well. That 4e combat has a particular kind of "narrative feel" where the PCs get hit hard up front, take some lumps, but then expend their resources and pull their reserves / daily powers, and pull victory out after coming back from an early brink.FFG Narrative Dice has a similar sort of thing, in my experience, though a slightly different narrative feel. FFG is more like an endurance race --- The early portion / start is a "feeling out", seeing who is going to set the tone, then as things progress, the party has to rely on moxie and guts and fortitude and good tactics to pull out victory in the end. And when reserves go to critical level, maybe even the Force shows its hand.  The classic Star Wars scene that always comes to mind for me that represents this flow is Han and Leia trying to hold out at the shield bunker in RotJ.</blockquote>

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